Coming up this week, we discuss team members departing, really dodgy names, Hamilton opening up, an evening with Joe, and those dangerous new teams.
Intro
This time next week the first race of the season will already be over! It's pretty exciting. Before that though, lots of news to get through plus some Fantasy Racers roll calls.
Good Week / Bad Week
It's been a good week for the Korean GP as they reckon they are on schedule, and for Renault who have managed to find a little bit of sponsorship in the form of Lada. It's been a bad week for Force India though, who haven't quite worked out how to use bit.ly yet, and for Willy Rampf who is leaving BMW Sauber.
News and Views
We discuss a few conclusions from testing, although nothing particularly groundbreaking. The fastest drivers, and those that completed the most distance. We contemplate some Ferrari developments and Red Bull stickers. We also wonder whether anything will come of the McLaren aero complaints.
The topic of US F1 can't be avoided any longer, if only because this may be the last time we get to talk about them. Anderson and Windsor appear to be to blame for the sinking of the ship, and with no Stefan GP either, we're looking at a slightly smaller grid. We discuss Campos' new change of name and image, although we don't particularly like it, and we briefly look at Hamilton's new openness now he's out from his father's management.
Feedback
Loads of feedback including: Jonathan sends me a picture of a marmot, Steven wants to know what LOST podcasts we listen to, Toastboy bets on Jenson, Iain looks into his crystal ball, Lisa's spotted a problem with Zencast, John has a Zune, Andy is being volunteered to get involved, Pete says a quick hello, and Simon is travelling the world.
Housekeeping
Bassano leads us in to a brief discussion about the excellent evening out with Joe, plus we plug the competition. All of Sidepodcast is now live so you never have to refresh again. We do a quick reminder about the show notes, plug a couple of fantasy F1 type things, and say goodbye until next week.
Outtakes
Those Fantasy Racers Roll Call sections were a little bit tricky. We knew there would be outtakes galore, but we didn't know there would be six minutes worth! Here they are in two parts.
Everyone is gearing up for the season to begin. The teams returned from Barcelona and got everything together to ship off to Bahrain. Plus, HRT became the newest team to launch a car.
Credit: Force India F1
Tonio Liuzzi pilots the VJM03 round Barcelona
Everyone back from testing now (I think the boys are due a well deserved rest having had about 4 hrs sleep per night for the last month!) Claire Williams
Seen some news from finnish media about lotus/minardi, comments taken out of context, not fair for our team, gonna combat it big time now! Heikki Kovalainen
Hamilton thinks that we are going to be competitive this year. Flattering to be honest. We're working towards fulfilling expectations. Force India
had some regular check ups today and play bowling with the Barrichello's...grandpa is 83 and still on big form...206 points today for him Rubens Barrichello
freight leaves tomorrow midnight! 25t of equipment to go to Bahrain! boys are working hard! Lotus Racing
Finally it's official !! I am a Formula 1 driver !! Karun Chandhok
In the middle of the press conference for the team's presentation in Murcia! Will try to post pics of the car asap!! Bruno Senna
Shame that fellow Oxford United supporter Ian Phillips has left Jordan (and subsequent incarnations). Don't think he'll be out of F1 long... James Roberts
Maximum attack coding today. A week from now and the Bahrain GP will be in the record books. The off-season used to be much longer I'm sure! Geoff Creighton
Sooo excited that a week today we'll have our first race winner of 2010! Lots of extra live F1 stats available online during races this year Jake Humphrey
We have reached Tuesday and I am busy dreaming up the final part of Life in the Fast Lane. Keep your eyes peeled throughout the day for the big finale. The voting closed last night, and I was once again surprised! I won't spoil it for you. Let's talk about more F1 related things:
With the start of the season not far off, it's time to start thinking about Fantasy Racers again. We've had a couple of questions about our Panda Racing league, and all the information can be found on this post. Otherwise, head on over to Gavin's blog where he has a fabulous introduction to the 2010 Fantasy Racers season.
Steven Roy has written a great guest post over on Viva F1 about how the FIA goes about making it's selection for new teams. It's a hot topic at the moment, with the apparent imminent failure of US F1 and the struggles for Campos. Check out Steven's view on the subject, and add your thoughts in the comments - there are some excellent opinions in there too.
I found myself missing testing today, it was nice to be able to check in with the action every now and again without having pressure to keep up with everything. Having said that, I'm looking forward to seeing who is legitimately fast or not. On the subject of conclusions and predictions, F1 Punter is back with a roundup of testing but from the viewpoint of bets and odds. I always find Punter's posts fascinating, even though I can never get my head round betting.
That's all for now, l hope your week is going well so far. Let us know what you're up to and I will see you in the comments.
It's March already? How did that happen? Not only that but it's Monday as well, meaning we've got to face a whole, brand new week. Pre-season testing is over and done with now, so we are really gearing up towards the season beginning in just a couple of weeks. Here are some of the things we're talking about:
The second edition of the F1 Digest 2010 Season Preview is up and available and this time we're talking about the teams. Every single team gets a mention, even US F1 and Campos, although there isn't that much to say about them at the moment. We review testing, talk about the launches and the driver pairings, and there are plenty of thoughts about the new cars and their designs. Let me know your thoughts on the new teams over on the thread.
Mr C has written about his updates to the site which really have turned the site into something completely new. Instead of live updates being based in two distinct areas, now every single page has the ability to load comments without refreshing. Mr C will tell you more in the post, but I can tell you right now, it's awesome and it will change the way you use the site.
Finally, I would like to plug the latest part of Life in the Fast Lane - my motorsport story. We're onto part 9 and that means it is the final vote of the ten part story. It's the big, important vote, the one that can change the way the story ends and whether there will be a sequel or not. No pressure! I've been surprised by a lot of the voting so far, so make sure you take a look and surprise me once more!
That's all for now, I reckon. Let us know what you're up to this week, and as ever, I will see you in the comments.
Pre-season testing concluded this week in Barcelona, allowing teams and drivers to attempt to draw conclusions from their work. Preparations for Bahrain get underway, oh, and Mark Webber joined Twitter!
Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Mark Webber during testing in Jerez, the same week that he joined Twitter
On my way to the airport in a taxi, playing golf on my ipod, scored 54 on pebble beach! Wicked eagles all the time, I wish it was real... Heikki Kovalainen
lot's of questions about car:I quite like it...also the engine seems strong.Still very dificult to draw a conclusion about the others... Rubens Barrichello
Good days work still learning loads about new wagon,team performing well,I have the feeling it going to be tight in the middle east!! Mark Webber
Been note-making all night...my own version of pre-season training. Beats using medicine balls and running up hills!! Nightx Jake Humphrey
Morning twts ! Today we have breakfast with Sir Richard and he will follow the tests after that. He might have a go on the car later! Hehe Lucas di Grassi
Right... I am off in search of food and StefanGP's containers full of spare parts which haven't been made for cars that haven't been built. Will Buxton
Rubens is brilliant. After a full day of track running, he still did an hour & a half of media work for me (and let his supper go cold)! Claire Williams
I had to dash to hear what Felipe Massa had to say. He says the 2010 Ferrari is consistent and reliable but rules out the team's advantage Sarah Holt
The Killers on high volume as Lotus Racing pack down after a very productive test session in Barcelona - bring on Bahrain! Lotus F1 Racing
Test conclusions: Tyres working well, within predictions. Pretty close between teams. Bahrain is going to be very interesting. Andy Stobart
Yesterday was definitely a day of rest in Sidepodcast Towers, but having said that Mr C just keeps on coding. I was busy trying not to fall asleep all day, whilst some new commenting updates were in the works. I'll leave him to tell you more when the updates go live, but keep your eyes peeled. Meanwhile, here are some of the things we're talking about:
The reason I'm so tired is thanks to the most excellent evening out in London, listening to Joe talking. So far we've heard all good things from the people who went, and I'm hoping we'll have some blog posts and photos to share with you soon. Lou has been posting a couple on her Twitpic account, though, including ones of me looking ever so thoughtful as I kept the comments updated. Turkey Machine has also written a quick post about his evening.
I caught up with a couple of days of testing news yesterday, and posted two F1 Minute episodes. The first talks of Glock at Virgin - he's enjoying being the number one - and the second is about Schumi's predictions - he's changed his mind. I love the idea that Michael might have suddenly realised he said something he shouldn't have.
Whilst we're on the subject of testing, I hope you're keeping an eye on Gavin's summaries after each day, as well as the updates over on Viva F1. Maverick and Gavin both use lots of pretty graphs, and now we're at Barcelona and conclusions can be drawn from what we're seeing out on track, it's worth looking deeper at the statistics. We'll be asking for your predictions soon enough!
That's all for now. Let us know how your weekend is going and what you're up to, and I will see you in the comments.
The third day in Barcelona gets underway and Williams will be coming off the back of good headlines yesterday, thanks to Hülkenberg. Rain is expected to mix up proceedings at the circuit, when teams desperately need a clear day of running on this penultimate pre-season test of 2010.
Up and down the pitlane, plenty of race simulation work was covered yesterday, and that's likely to continue into the weekend. Will anyone run some light and fast qualifying simulations?
On track action begins at 9am CET (8am GMT).
Circuit Information
Track length: 4.655km
Corners: 16
Lap record: 1:21.670 (Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari, 2008)
You'll find Circuit de Catalunya located in the North East corner of Spain.
Drivers and Teams Attending
The following teams and drivers are confirmed for testing on Wednesday
I am writing this from a table at the side of the Evening with Joe event, and have been covering it all evening. It's been a fabulous evening and you can catch up with all the comments and photos over on the dedicated thread. We'll be working on some highlights over the weekend, as well, hopefully. Meanwhile, here are some of the other things we're talking about:
The first part of my F1 Digest Season Preview went up yesterday, too late to meet the daily. It features a run through the entire grid - 24 drivers that we know of - with some stats and a paragraph or two for each. There will be three more preview podcasts over the next few days, so you can now start saying the season really is here.
Hulkenberg was fastest in testing yesterday, which is very interesting if you consider their Cosworth engine. It appeared as though the engine was going to be behind everyone else over the winter, but perhaps that isn't the case. Naturally, testing isn't reliable evidence, but it's certainly better than I was expecting. Now, Virgin on the other hand... still struggling.
I didn't get to say Happy Birthday to Janna yesterday because I was saving it for the guest post she wrote for us. Now that is published, belated birthday wishes for Janna, and thank you very much for the push for donations. We appreciate it.
That should do it for now. I can't speak for Mr C but I am going to be completely shattered today, so I will see you in the comments... but not until later.
Webber was fastest in testing yesterday, and if that is the first meaninful testing time we've seen so far, then it's looking like a good start for Red Bull. There will be another dedicated testing thread along for day two in Barcelona, and I'm intrigued to see who will be fast on the second outing. Meanwhile, here are some things we're talking about:
Talking of Webber, it appears the Australian has gone and got himself a presence on Twitter. The name @aussiegrit is already causing some confusion. I've seen people think it says 'girl' or mistake it for not having an 'r'. Perhaps MarkWebber was already taken? Still, good to see him on their, and as one of the more outspoken members of the paddock, there may some real gems to come.
Meanwhile, di Grassi was being pretty useless out on track in Barcelona, although the team were quick to say they had been trying an experimental setup so it wasn't his fault. He crashed into the wall and wrecked the car, meaning the team had to sit out the rest of the day, and are hoping to be ready to go again tomorrow. What else can go wrong for Virgin?
Mr Stefanovic still thinks he's in with a shot of getting a grid slot, but he says time really is tight now. Apparently to be ready for Bahrain they need to be packed by next Wednesday, and he's sure they'll have something sorted by then. Really? I suppose this can only coincide with the fact that the employees at US F1 have so little to do without a car that they really are going to make a toaster. I don't know about you but I would buy that toaster.
That should do it for now. We're out in London today, but will be keeping an eye on the site and hopefully feeding back as much as we can. I'll see you in the comments.
We have reached Thursday, and for once, I am determined that it won't be a bad day. For a start I'm not at work today, so that helps. Also, testing in Barcelona gets underway today, so that is also going to make it awesome. Watch out for a dedicated thread appearing later on this morning. Elsewhere:
The second part in Jackie's Safety First blog series appeared yesterday, this time taking a closer look at Driver Aids, and more particularly accelerometers. It's a great read, as is the first in the series about safety at circuits, so make sure you check them both out if you haven't already.
Not really F1 related at all but I wrote a quick piece on I Heart Franck yesterday regarding Peugeot and their plans for the year. It looks like we'll be live commenting at least one Franck race in 2010, and the real challenge will be to see how much of the 24 hours I can stay awake for this time round.
It's that time again, time to promote the latest part of Life in the Fast Lane. We're drawing the story to a close now, just two more sections to come and one more vote after this one. Things are getting serious and the decisions are getting more important! If you haven't already, head on over and get your vote in to direct the path of Part 9. (Which, by the way, will be late as it is due on Friday, and we'll be concentrating on Joe that day.) Also a quick shout out to Lindsay Rumbold who in turn gave my story a quick shout out as well. She has a motorsport book due for release soon-ish, so keep an eye out for it.
That should do it for now. Hopefully I won't forget Baby Panda Thursday this week, so it might be a better day for everyone. See you in the comments!
